Hoodwinking
by LoveToTheCucumber
Summary: Elizabeta tends to act a bit paranoid - with good reason.


**Hoodwinking**

She skimmed through the newspaper once again before looking up at her friend who sat across the table, unaffectedly drinking her coffee. The fingers around the paper felt chilly to the point where her hands started shaking, but it was mostly due to the biting cold that reached her from outside the cozy café.

With a sigh, she put down the bundle of papers and cupped the warm mug in front of her.

"I don't get how you can act so indifferent?"

"Oh, come on."

"What if you were one of them?"

The blonde woman shrugged and ventured into taking another sip of the fuming fawn mixture that surely consisted more of milk than coffee. "That's how it's like in the city. You'll get used to it."

Elizabeta had recently moved to Copenhagen to study at KU. Until then, she had spent most of her life in a townlet in nothern Jutland together with her parents. A rather uneventful place. Every weekend involved three things; help daddy feed the cattle, go and help mom prepare dinner and then homework – well, to be fair to the normal people living there, they were actually pretty much a parody on a Jutlandish family. In that area, there were a few small community schools surrounded by corn fields and what not, two gray buses – one, that drove by once every hour and the school bus that chugged its way to the bus station about 5 minutes later (though only on school days), the towns sole night club; Crazy Daisy and the local co-op. That was what she was used to.

It was so far from a life in the city, which was where her friend, Bella, had grown up.

She reread the title of the front page article. _"Date Rape Drug ravages the night life of Copenhagen."_ No, this was far from the type of headline that would make it to the North Jutlandic regional newspaper.

"They think it's the same person who's done it."

"Done what?"

She guided Bella's gaze down to the creased waste paper.

"Seriously? They think one man raped all of those women?"

She nodded.

"That's insane."

"Why?"

"In that case, shouldn't they have caught him by now?"

"His DNA doesn't match any that they know of. The article says that the girls can't remember anything that happened, but I think they're just too scared to say anything."

Bella snorted and she leaned back in her seat, looking out of the window. Something made her smile a little. "Look," she said. "Isn't that that new guy?"

"Yes," she answered without interest.

"Don't you think it's funny how he shows up just as the serial rapes starts?"

"What? Don't say stuff like that!"

"He's always looking at you."

"That's not funny."

"You better watch your back from now on," She laughed and placed her purse on the table.

Elizabeta brushed a flowing nutella lock behind her ear. He crossed the square and rounded a corner. She stretched her neck, but gave up following him pretty quickly.

"You still wanna go to LBL tonight?"

"What?"

They got eye contact and Bella repeated her question and added, "Perhaps you're afraid?"

"No, not at all, I still wanna go. As long as you promise not to ditch me for some guy."

"Why would you say that? As if I've ever done that."

"You have."

"It was, what, one, two times?"

"It doesn't matter. I just don't wanna end up standing by my own all night again."

They got up from their seats, threw their bags over their shoulders and pushed the chairs back into place with a loud screech.

Bella continued the discussion for the next 10 minutes.

-

The nightclub was very much alive when Elizabeta and Bella arrived around 2AM. The light blue neon sign reading, "Little Bright Lights", lit up the street underneath it – with the exception of the defect "s" that had not functioned since summer. The blue tinge colored the bystanders an almost sickening tone that made it appear like it was even colder outside than it actually was.

Elizabeta threw her arms around herself, shaking. The thin shirt with its sleeves rolled-up to her elbows and the flower patterned skirt that just about reached her knees were not exactly an outfit that looked to be a part of H&Ms latest winter collection. Bringing a jacket would not have been such a bad idea, she realized, but for once, she had chosen not to be practical about her clothing. However, she felt an artificial warmth surrounding her when she looked at Bella. Why was not that girl's body shuddering like crazy in that somehow impressively short dress? The blonde beauty's attire was more often than not very revealing in every aspect. The only daring thing about Elizabeta's clothing was the slightly see-through button-up shirt. It was nothing compared to that blindingly yellow number next to her. It was even strapless.

As always, they queue-jumped, walking right up to the doorman to be let in. That was one of the perks of tagging along the sister of ones favorite nightclub's joint owner. So long as she stuck to Bella, she could enjoy luxuries like that. At least she would rather stand by that girl throughout her, at times, embarrassing conduct than to have to stay out in the cold with the others who had probably waited forever to get past the bouncers.

Tim and his fellow bartender was joggling bottles in the bar. The last mentioned had only worked there a couple of months so Elizabeta did not know him very well, but he seemed to be hitting it off nicely with his boss.

Tim quickly shooed away the costumers who sat on the best seats in the house in favor of the two girls who approached the bar with businesslike steps.

"Timmer-Toes!" exclaimed Bella and threw herself across the bar counter to plant a big kiss on her brother's cheek.

Elizabeta had always wished for a siblingship as strong and close as theirs, but it was hard to get something like that when you were an only child. She was not very fond of the pet name, though.

"It's been a profitable night so first drink is on the house. So, what's it gonna be?" He only just made himself heard above the noisy nightclub.

"Why are you always so stingy?" Bella kvetched with a pout as always. She got the standard answer, 'that her dear brother would go bankrupt if he let her drink just half of what she was capable of gulping down in a single night.'

The relatively new bartender addressed Elizabeta, sending her a wide grin. "So, what would you like?"

"Uhm... I'm not sure. Not anything too strong, I guess."

He nodded and once again showed off his impressive bottles-in-the-air trick.

"Here you go." A bluish drink with ice and a pretty little parasol dressed straw was placed in front of her. "Hope you like it." He blinked and then returned to serving the other costumers that were mounting up along the bar.

A Blue Lagoon was not exactly her definition of a not so alcoholic drink, but it was free and she had not had any alcohol beforehand – unlike certain others – so it was hardly a problem. At any rate, she tasted it and it turned out to be rather palatable.

When she turned back towards Bella, it came as little surprise when she was able to conclude that the chit had picked the most expensive cocktail on the menu by far. And of course, it was covered in all sorts of bric-à-brac, making it look like a freaking clown's act. It did make it easier to get people's attention, after all.

"Antonio is here," the blonde purred with a prurient smile on her lips, having her sights on the latino who wore a pair off way too tight pants and an open dress shirt that showed more than necessary.

"Mmhmm... He's hard to miss."

He was about as flashy as Elizabeta's horny friend.

Bella shuffled her feet. You could easily tell what she was waiting for so Elizabeta gave her the go-ahead, reluctantly.

"Just go already."

"Thanks, Liza, you're the best! But please, stop being so fucking paranoid."

Elizabeta looked down at her hand when Bella pointed to it.

"Wish me luck."

She stammered out a "Good luck," and wondered how Bella had noticed that she had put her hand over the glass. Especially when she had not even realized it herself.

And just like that, the girl was gone. Typical.

Every once in a while, Elizabeta found it entertaining to watch the woman in the club buzz around the men, like bees looking for honey. Well, they probably were more like wasps. But she had done it so many nights where she was supposed to be "having a whale of a time," as her yellow friend would say, so she had grown rather tired of that game.

Her eyes wandered horizontally around the room till her gaze met with someone's stare. She gasped and quickly turned around on her chair. He was everywhere. No matter where or when, he was there. And he would be staring at her with that sharp look of his. Every single time.

The palms of her hands turned sweaty and she stared intensely down at the counter. How did he manage to make her feel so uncomfortable?

"Hey, neighbor."

She glanced up at him quickly. "Hey." Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted him, taking the empty seat beside her. How unlucky did God allow one person to be? As if it was not enough that he had moved into the apartment that lay just across the hall from her own, but they were taking the same classes and now, apparently, he was also hanging out the same places as she.

"Why are you here by yourself?"

"I'm not here by myself." She turned a bit on her chair.

"Heh, no, not anymore. I'm here, obviously."

She did not answer him, just spun around the melting lumps of ice with her straw.

"You're not usually this shy." He leaned closer to her; she noticed due to the intensifying smell of smoke and booze. "What about another drink? That might help."

She froze when his hand connected with her shoulder. "No thank you." She tried to scoot out of reach, but the space was too cramped.

"Come one, dry stick."

"Hey, how about you back off, mister?"

They both looked up. In front of them stood one disgruntled bartender with his arms across his chest.

"And you are?" asked her inescapable neighbor and fellow student, Gilbert. He rose to meet the other at eye level.

"Her brother."

Gilbert seemed surprised, but probably not even half as surprised as she did. Tim did not look very interested in the conversation, but she noticed he kept an eye on them.

"If you're not gonna buy anything then hop it, boy."

The confused guy on her side of the bar stood for a moment, considering his options for a little before finally deciding to go back to his own table.

The bartender's kind eyes fell on her.

She gave him a suspicious look, but could not help herself from smiling. "My brother?"

"Yeah, sounds alarming compared to 'boyfriend,' don't you think? And it's less cliché."

It made her break out into a roaring laughter. "Yes. And I'm a fan of that old tone you used. Very classy," she chuckled, running a finger under her eye.

"Just give a call if you ever need brother Mathias to come to your aid again."

"Hehe, thanks, will do."

"Sorry, but I didn't quite catch my newly acquired sister's name?"

"Elizabeta."

"Cool, that's a pretty name."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, you want a drink? It's on me."

She nodded.

After a couple of hours, she still sat there, alone. Bella had returned to say "hi" a couple of times, but the mildly disturbed woman had not shown her face for the last 30 minutes and it made her concerned. But all her worries disappeared when she checked her cell for the first time that day. One message, it was kind of pathetic. And of course, it was from her – at times – not so great friend.

"_Antonio invited me to his place. Sorry, I owe you a drink! See ya, beautiful :*"_

She always did that. As if a drink and a compliment would make her forget all the times she had abandoned her. She was there for a reason. All she wanted was to paint the city red with her friend. But apparently, it was impossible. And she was naive to think otherwise because a night out alone with Bella was bound to end in disaster.

She scanned the room. That Gilbert guy was still there. She had caught him gawking at her more times than she could count on two hands. It was as if he was waiting for her to leave her safe seat by the bar. It made her anxious and she wished Bella had not dumped her yet again.

"What's up?"

Her gaze met with a pair of big, blue, curious eyes that did not nearly look as tired as she thought they should have.

"Nothing. I was just thinking it's time to leave."

"Where's Bella?"

She had prayed he would not ask that particular question. "She went on, but I was too tired," she said as if there had actually been a chance that they would have invited her to come along.

"Oh, she's really one heck of a brick. Not like that guy over there." He nodded in the direction of Tim who just stood with his arms crossed, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." It was not exactly the coolest ever to be called a drag – since, in a way, he was actually doing just that. Not that she had given him any reason to think differently. After all, she had been hanging around the bar ever since she came. She did not understand why she kept tagging along Bella these nights. It was not like she even wanted to be there in the first place. It was probably because she always had a glimmer of hope that something exciting would happen and she would not be able to forgive herself if she missed it just so she could stay at home, doing nothing. Apparently, that was enough for her to follow her brightly colored friend through thick and thin.

It was so stupid.

"Weren't you going?" Mathias asked when she did not move out of the spot.

"I was." She smiled at him quickly before glancing over at her neighbor that sat in a corner, smiling at her. Bella had told her that Gilbert had a brother that was mentally unstable – or something like that – and that he had been locked away in a mental institution and all sorts of other crap. Supposedly, it was a hereditary thing – yes, that Bella girl knew her gossip. Gossip and men, but that was about it.

Mathias leaned over the counter, his nose parallel with hers. "He's kind of a creep, that guy."

She gave an uncommitted chuckle, angry that she had let him notice her concern.

"Are you waiting for a cab?"

She pulled back a little to get a better look at him. "No, I'm walking home. I only live 15 minutes from here."

"Oooh, yeah, then a cab would be a waste of money." He pushed himself away from the bar and threw a peanut at Tim to get his attention. "Can I get off a bit earlier tonight?"

Her eyes instantly widened and she was about to open her mouth to protest when she decided against it.

"That's cool with me," Tim answered indifferently and got back to the conversation he was having with some costumer that looked to be around the same age as himself.

Mathias found his jacket and came to the other side of the counter. She was not sure how to react.

"Shall we walk?"

A very discreet smile crept onto her lips, speaking on behalf of her. "You don't have to do this."

"Come on, there're no costumers around closing hours anyway. Besides, I need to get out to stretch my legs a little." He send her another one of those wide smiles as he turned his body towards the exit.

On one hand, she did not feel like walking with him. He had been so very kind to her the entire night and she just did not want to indebt herself anymore than she already had. But on the other hand, there was no way she was walking home alone in the darkness with all those drunk bums around. Especially not when Gilbert was there.

Mathias had not given her any choice in the matter, was her excuse so she would not feel too bad about getting off the chair and leaving with him.

The walk home was a lot more comfortable than she had imagined. The awkward silence nearly had not showed its ugly face and Mathias had even offered her his jacket. The cold got even worse at night and she truly regretted not bringing her long Nanavik coat. Not that it looked like he was freezing. Perhaps that was a girl thing.

When they stood outside her apartment complex, she turned towards him. "Thanks for letting me borrow this," she said, handing him the jacket.

"You're welcome."

They looked at each other for a little while, not knowing what say. Splitting up after something like that always felt a little odd.

He exhaled heavily, a white cloud of air dancing around his fair face. "I wonder if Tim scored a lot of tips tonight?"

"Does he usually get a lot?"

"Not really, it's just that all the desperate single women go crazy around the time we're closing down. You actually cost me a lot of free drinks."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't even aware of that." She could not come up with a better answer.

He cocked his head and put on a wry smile. "That's okay. As long as you offer me a beer before I go home."

She could not help but giggle. His guts nearly outshined his charm.

"Okay," she nodded and took the lead up to her apartment.

There was a case of lukewarm beer in her room. It was the sad leftovers from her housewarming party. She figured they were fine even if they were past their sell-by date by half a year. She had never heard of beer that had gone bad because of that. Maybe because most made sure to drink stuff like that within the first couple of weeks after that had bought them.

She opened a beer for each of them and went back into the living room where Mathias sat, waiting on the couch. Her eyes were fixed on him as he took the first swig of the bottle. He did not seem to suspect anything.

"Ah, just what I needed. Though, it would have been better if it was actually the right brand," he teased, tapping the "Tuborg" sticker with a finger.

Beer brands was not her strongest point. To her, every beer tasted the same so she saw no reason to be a snob about this.

Shrugging, she took a sip herself, nose wrinkling up against her will.

Mathias wrote something on his phone. A friend of his had to be on his way home from a party or something. Or he was just a really early riser. Whoever it was, the person answered soon after. She did not know anyone who would answer her on that time of day and suddenly, she felt sort of dopey.

For the first time since they met, there was an actual silence between them. It felt a little weird, but that was it.

Without warning, Mathias got up on his feet and went over to a picture that hung on the wall opposite them. He studied it silently. She could not help but contemplate his brawny body and the pretty, untamed blonde hair.

"Is that your parents?"

"Yeah."

"I like her eyes."

"Yeah," she repeated and snickered tauntingly. "I didn't think you guys noticed these things." She got up.

"Of course we do. Yours are really pretty too." He came closer and she closed her eyes.

"What color are my eyes?"

"Pfft, that's easy." His breath hit her face. "They're brown."

The smile on her face spread as wide as possible and she shook her head. "Nope."

"I meant blue." It was a poor attempt at correcting his obvious mistake.

"No, they're green." She opened her eyes again and discovered how close they were standing.

"Well, what do you know. They are green." His smile had an enchanting affect on her and she could not stop staring.

Slowly, she rolled up on her toes as he leaned down towards her. His hand ran up her leg and snuck down her panties. The sound she made resounded inside his mouth when his fingers moved and her body pressed closer.

He planted several kisses down her bare neck. Her hand went through his short hair that was greasy from all the wax just as a moan slipped past a set of slightly tea discolored teeth.

Their eyes met for a second and she noted the smug grin on his face.

He was very straight-forward, but she did not really mind. That plus his captivating courtesy were part of the reason why she had invited him to her apartment in the first place.

There was a knock on the door and she pushed herself away from him as the unexpected sound gave her a turn. She was not sure if she was just imagining things or if Mathias' presence and the alcohol had made her forget her surroundings completely.

They knocked again. She was in two minds if whether or not it was a good idea to open the door or not so she searched for answers from the person in front of her. It seemed he was waiting for her to make and move and so she went to unlock the door.

"Hey."

"Hi?" she replied quizzically and hoped the familiar man in the door would not notice her confusion and take it as an insult.

He was probably there to pick up Mathias.

Tim forced her to back a little when he stepped inside on his own initiative, closing the door behind him.

"What's up?" she asked with an insecure smile. The situation was a bit weird and she did not know how she felt about Tim acting like he was at home. They did know each other, but he had never been to her apartment. Where had he even gotten the address?

He did not answer, instead she heard the sound of the door lock.

Her heart started beating slightly faster against her chest and her breathing grew shallower.

Mathias was oddly quiet. Tim turned towards them with an blank look in his eyes that sent a shiver down her spine.

Flurried, she stepped backwards, but crashed directly into the chest of the man behind her who immediately got a hold of her, placing a hand over her mouth. His fingers were still slimy and they stuck to her cheek.

When she saw the switchblade in Tim's hand, she realized something really was off about that whole situation. But she continued to convince herself that this was some kind of game. She mumbled something she was not even sure what was and tried to wrench out of Mathias' grip, but without getting violent.

Mathias smirked and tightened his hold. "Where were you?" he asked.

"The usual alcoholics, you know," Tim stated without going into details about it.

She wanted to sink the lump that was starting to form in her throat, but her mouth was too dry.

"Sorry, dude, but I jumped the gun, right, Liza?" She was desperately trying to get eye contact with him out of the corner of her eye, but he did not let her move her head even an inch.

She mumbled something into his hand again.

"Sorry, sweetie, what did you say?" he laughed, spreading his fingers.

"Would you please let go now? I don't think this is funny anymore."

Tim gave her a weird look.

Mathias snorted happily, "What are you talking about? We haven't even started yet."

She was slowly starting to panic and moved away as far as Mathias let her when Tim got in her face, the switchblade raised to her face.

"If you behave nicely, I promise, it'll be fun for you too."

The burning hold was finally loosened and Mathias strolled to the CD player while Tim did not move out of the way. She barely dared to look up at his tall figure.

"Let's get this party started. Don't you have something suitable?"

She did not answer.

"Hey, sweet-cheeks, come here and help me."

Her entire body shivered with fear when she saw Mathias standing there with his arm stretched out in her direction. He signaled for her to come closer, but she did not move out of the spot until Tim gave her an "encouraging" push in the back.

Mathias' out-of-place embrace made her gasp and flinch at the same time. He held her from behind, her body forced close to his and his lips being way too close to her neck for comfort.

"Find something nice. I wanna see you dance," he whispered.

The hairs on her arms stood on end as she frantically searched for his request with her eyes. But she could not concentrate and therefore ended up reaching out for the first thing handy.

He took a quick look at the CD, but shook his head. "No, that's not exactly what I was looking for."

The way he held her made her feel sick to her stomach. Even though his touch was soft, she could feel his true intentions behind every graze of a finger. Never had she found being intimidate with another person as repulsive as then.

"This one," he said and pulled out a single with Joe Cocker. "So you did prepare," he laughed.

She was more than aware of what he meant by that and she could easily guess what awaited her, the thought alone made her face contort into a choked grimace.

Unwillingly, she helped him put on the CD and as soon as the music started playing, he took her hand and spun her around herself awkwardly.

"Come."

He dragged her to the couch where he politely asked her to step up on the coffee table.

Her legs would not move. It felt as if they were strapped to a pair of giant concrete blocks. It was impossible. Every time he asked her to climb the table, she was one step closer to breaking down. The tears welled up in her eyes, lower lip trembling in an attempt to keep herself from crying.

"I can't," she sobbed and tried to break away, but Mathias held her and quietly guided her back to the table.

Tim came to their aid, helping Mathias lift her.

Her feet pointed inwards. Her posture was far from as straight and proud as it usually was.

"Dance for us." Mathias looked up at her with anticipation, but she could not move her body. It was transfixed. She did not even have the strength to hold back the tears anymore.

Tim plopped down on the couch, displeased. Mathias' reaction was far from as despondent.

"Come here, we'll do it together." He stepped up onto the table and got behind her so he would not block Tim's view of her.

She looked down at his hands in surprise when they slowly traveled up her body towards her waist belt that soon hit the edge of the wooden table.

He placed his broad hands on each side of her, easily making her hips sway in time with the music. She had given up and she let him control her like a no strings marionette.

"Yes, just like that. Keep it going." he purred into her ear.

One button went flying. Then the next one. And another until he had ripped her shirt wide open, letting it slide down from her narrow shoulders.

"See what you're doing to him?" He raised her chin so she could get a good look at the staring gaze she received from the couch. "Take it off." The selvage of her skirt stretched when he led her fingers beneath the elastic waistband. "Now," was his last words before jumping down from the table.

Grudgingly, she pushed the thin fabric further and further down until it fell to her feet on its own.

It was all too surrealistic for her to fully comprehend what was going on. It almost felt like sleepwalking.

Mathias held out his hand and helped her get down from the table, just to place her on Tim's lap. His excitement poked her between her legs, making her face turn as white as a sheet.

"You look sick," Tim noted and ran his fingers through her long, wavy hair.

Mathias grabbed a beer and stood with it for a moment before passing it on to Tim. She had a hard time focusing on anything with Tim being as close to her as he was. Moreover, her legs started cramping in that uncomfortable position.

"Drink." Tim offered her the bottle, but she shook her head. He only snorted and gave it back to Mathias.

She screamed out of pain when suddenly Tim closed his hand around her hair and pulled back, full force. Her eyes widened and she threw her arms around, trying to knock away the beer that was emptied directly down her throat. Spluttering and hacking, she feared a watery death when the alcohol flowed into her nostrils. They did not stop until she could see the bottom of the bottle.

Tim let go of her so she could cough her lungs up.

"You look much better already," laughed Mathias, joining them on the couch. "Best out of three?"

Tim nodded and stuck a fist out in front of himself.

"She's playing for me." Mathias nudged Elizabeta who was nervously wiping her mouth. "Rock, paper, scissors." She had no idea what this was all about, but she did not dare to defy him. Sobbing, she raised her fist.

She won with paper.

She lost with scissors.

She won with rock.

Tim shrugged, admitting defeat. She looked from one man to the other, hoping one of them would explain the purpose of this charade.

"Well, well, gotta be lucky once in a while." Mathias smiled and looked at her calmly – just like Tim. The silence was unsettling. Actually, she barely even noticed their sudden change of expression and their fast movements before it was too late.

She shrieked, hands forced together over her head and her back buried in the sofa cushions. Tim's grip around her wrists were tight and Mathias was heavy and violent. He did not stop even though she managed to kick him several times. She defended herself with teeth and nails to the very last where she ended up lying in a foetal position, prostrated with fatigue when Mathias and Tim subsequently stood talking somewhere in the living room.

She could not locate them.

She peeked over the back of the couch when she finally managed to lift her body high enough. The entire room was spinning and she could not really separate their words from each other to understand anything they were saying. She had never felt this tired and weak her entire life.

Dragging her oscitant limps over the edge of the couch, she rose with difficulty, various objects having to support the weight of her naked body. She froze up for a second, but realized there was no time to waste.

With drowsy steps, she went for the front door. She tried to speed up her pace, but she was stopped by a form that got in the way of her path, its arms spread out to both sides. "Where're you going?"

She changed course, but did not get far before another person jumped out in front of her. "We're not done yet, girl."

They pranced around her like a pack of hungry wolves. Her legs could barely carry her and she tripped over her own feet.

"Whoops." It was Mathias' voice. "I think we've got a winner." He knelt down next to her and rolled her onto her back. "Seems I'm not the only one who's lucky here, huh? Tim tends to go a bit over the top, if you catch my drift."

Her breathing was slow and heavy and she did her best to keep her eyes open, but it was not easy. Blinking, she tried to focus on the face before her, but everything was gray and melted together to nothing.

Soon, all her senses began to desert her. Alternately intercepting a few signals; the cold edge of the kitchen table against her stomach and thighs. The taste of the clammy hand around her mouth. The musky smell mixed with sweat and rubber. The laughs behind her and the faint squeals. She was not sure if she was asleep or awake. But her eyes were closed even when they were open.

….

….

Bella had already arrived at the hospital when Elizabeta finally awoke. Her entire body felt tight when she moved and the bruises, that showed all over her body, were sore.

"Hey," said the blonde beauty sedately with a pitying smile glued to her face.

"... Hey."

"How are you?" She stroked Elizabeta's hair. Her eyes reflected the insecurity she most likely felt crawling around right under her skin.

"Go-od." The hoarse voice clawed her throat and she had to stop over midword. She was surprised to find speaking so difficult.

"I talked to your parents. They're on their way."

"Thanks." Carefully, she tried to sit up straight, but Bella stopped her.

"Let me." The blonde pressed a button and the top of the bed slowly started to rise.

Elizabeta sent her a smile as thanks and laid her head back onto the pillow with a sigh racked with pain. "How did I get here?"

Bella looked at her with her head tipped to the side. "Your door was open." She chuckled nervously. "Believe it or not, it was your stalker who found you. Those are from him," she said, pointing at a bouquet of red roses that stood in the window. "The hospital called your parents and they called me to ask if I would go check on you so Tim drove me here."

Elizabeta's gaze froze. "Tim?"

"Yeah, it was really nice of him. Last night was rough and he stayed up late and all, but he was worried about you too, right?" she clucked and took a step to the side. Behind her sat Tim in a chair up against the wall, staring right at Elizabeta.

Her instincts begged her to call for help, protect Bella and get them out of there, but the heartfelt smile that spread across her friend's lips when she looked at her brother made her pause and think twice about it.

"Liza."

Bella looked somewhat serious all of a sudden.

"What happened?"

Her body could not move as she recalled the night before. She just stared at her worried friend. Little by little, she pulled herself together and stammered a, "I-I don't remember."

It was hard to tell if Bella was convinced or not. She just nodded and looked down at the floor for a brief moment.

"I better go get a doctor. I'm sure they would like to know you're awake."

Bella walked out and Elizabeta's eyes met with Tim's yet again.

She had to concentrate in order to keep her respiration steady and she hoped he would not notice her slightly dragged out breathing.

-

A week later, when the bruises from that night were just about gone and the people around her had recovered from the shocking news, she ran into her neighbor in the hallway. It seemed he was headed out.

The moment he laid eyes on her, he straightened his back and send her a cautious smile. "Hey."

"Hey." She opened her mailbox for the first time that week, finding the noise complaint from the estate manager.

"Ho-how are you?" he asked behind her.

She turned, noting that he seemed a little tense. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Okay, that's great to hear."

A figure behind Gilbert caught her eye. It was a short, blonde boy who she guessed to be around 12.

"That's my brother, Ludwig."

She glanced up at the guy with the Justin Bieber-like haircut.

"Don't just stand there, Luddy, say hi." Gilbert demanded.

With suspicion, the boy looked up at Elizabeta who stood smiling down at him. Then his gaze turned to his brother. "We do not have time for that!"

"Hey, you, greet the lady."

Ludwig was glaring when he looked up at her again. "Hm... Hello then."

"Hey, nice to meet you." Her voice was as sweet as honey.

Ludwig's reaction was not exactly the one that she had expected. He stood there, looking important, as he crossed his arms and looked at her haughtily. "You're supposed to tell me your name now, thank you."

"I'm Elizabeta."

"Yes, hello, my name is Ludwig... Now we go."

"Easy, tiger." Gilbert placed a hand on Ludwig's shoulder, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to apologize for his brother's behavior. "I promised to take him to the Zoo."

"Oooh," she started, but was interrupted by the boy.

"You said I could have a candy floss too."

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, why are you just standing there? Now we won't get there before all the candy floss are eaten and the tiger has gone home!"

"Chill out, boy. I told you we'll get to everything in time, don't worry." Gilbert shrugged. "I'm so sorry. It's 'cause my brother's retarded. He doesn't know what he's saying half the- auch!" He laughed and flinched when his brother hit him.

"Why do you always say that?! You know mommy says you can't call it that!" He pointed menacingly at his older brother who did not care to try and hide a teasing smile.

"Sorry, was it mentally deficient or just stupid?"

"Stop it!"

Elizabeta was surprised to discover that the rumors about Gilbert's brother was somehow true. Though she was pleasantly surprised, to be exact, and she could not force the smile off her lips. It was weird to see someone like Gilbert play around with someone like Ludwig like that. Her neighbor suddenly seemed very... different.

"Anyway, you should get going. Don't let me hold you up any longer." She walked to the front door to unlock it, but turned back to Gilbert when he cleared his throat.

"Uhm... I was thinking – if you're not doing anything – that maybe you would like to come with us... or something? There's this special show going on there today." His cheeks went from an almost completely white color to a shade of red in a very short amount of time.

"To the Zoo?" she asked in astonishment.

"... Yeah." He scratched the back of his neck discreetly.

"Well..." Her eyes glided from Gilbert to the pouting boy next to him. "That depends if it's okay with you, Ludwig?"

The blonde eyed them before rolling his eyes. "Yes... yes... Okay. But if you need to kiss all the time, you'll both have to stay home. And I would like some ice cream too then, please."

"Ludwig." Gilbert looked at him warningly.

Elizabeta only laughed. "That's a deal. I just need to go get a few things first if that's okay?"

"It never ends, does it?" The boy sighed loudly and shook his head.

Gilbert pressed his brother closer, most likely in hopes of making him easier to control. "That's cool. We'll wait here."

She sent them a toothy smile, but before disappearing into her apartment, she added, "Oh, and by the way, thanks for the flowers."

His dimples became visible. "N-no problem."


End file.
